Trifle, but convenient. Why do I use LotusLive, or why I don’t like Microsoft BPOS and Google Apps

Recently, my friend and I had an interesting conversation about the newfangled work in the “clouds”. In my opinion, on Habré about this "phenomenon" (it is difficult to fit the whole meaning of the concept of cloud computing in one word) and have repeatedly written and argued. But now I want to talk about something else.



So, our conversation, as it is not difficult to imagine, smoothly turned into a discussion of "cloud" products and ease of use, especially in the process of working together. In the process of searching for additional information on the topic, we came across an interesting comment from a single user of cloud services. He named three top reasons for choosing LotusLive versus Microsoft BPOS and Google Apps, which impressed me with its simplicity and originality.

So, here are these three reasons (with accompanying thoughts):



1) Tags / Tags (including the possibility of advanced input)

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As you know, neither Microsoft BPOS nor the Google App have the ability to leave tags, these products work with the traditional folder structure. And this can be considered a big disadvantage.

Based on my experience with folders (and most of us have come across this), I can say that I can put the document in one folder, and some of my colleagues the same document in another. Labels, as in the case of LotusLive, solve this problem - you can add multiple tags to one element. And then, it saves a lot of time during the search, just use the tag cloud. If the tags did not help, then you can use a more traditional way - the search string.



Google and Microsoft so far offer to use only the search string. If this does not help, then the old “old-fashioned” method remains - go down through the folder structure :)



2) Ability to download history



When sharing a document, LotusLive tells you who uploaded the shared document and when it happened.



In Microsoft BPOS and Google Apps, it is also possible (in various ways) to easily exchange documents, but you are not completely sure if anyone has seen this document until this someone tells you about it.



In my opinion, if you work with several people on a specific project or direction and use common documents, it is much more convenient when you immediately know who and when worked with the document before you, without wasting time trying to figure it out.



It may sound strange, but this feature gives you a real feeling, a feeling that you are working with a specific person.



3) View updates on the main page.

On the main LotusLive page, you can always see the latest updates (for example, information that a new version of the document was uploaded, or a list of colleagues who updated their profile and accepted your invitation). This reason is especially relevant in light of the popularity of social business networks, such as LinkedIn.



You can also receive update notifications via Google or Microsoft via RSS feeds. But, in my opinion, this is not entirely convenient, since to receive such notifications, you need one action on your part. And this, albeit small, but a waste of time. Updates on the main page are information that I did not specifically request, but this is useful information that allows me to keep abreast of developments in my business environment.



I never would have thought that such simple things, to which we often pay attention in the last place, can become fundamental in choosing one or another product and ... make our life and work easier.